Most of the time, the commonest types of situations we encounter are those that are symmetric: You win/You lose, about an even amount.
The most lucrative situations are ones where you’re able to claim more (or more regular) upside than in a symmetrical arrangement. These are the type of situations you want to maximize the amount of times you play and the amount you put into them.
Broadly speaking, asymmetric positive outcomes generally come from raising human capital or compound interest. When one invests in themselves, we generally assume this is positive sum because at the margin, people aren’t patient enough to obtain the optimal amount.
It’s also important to minimize situations where the downside is very large relative to potential upsides. Things like drug use, social media, and failing to use birth control fall into this bucket of things.
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